Bleed Your Cedar

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Bleed Your Cedar
Studio album by
Elysian Fields
Released1996
GenreAlternative rock
LabelRadioactive/MCA[1]
ProducerOren Bloedow, Ed Pastorini
Elysian Fields chronology
Elysian Fields
(1996) 		Bleed Your Cedar
(1996) 		Clinical Trial
(1997, recorded)

Bleed Your Cedar is the debut album by the American band Elysian Fields, released in 1996.[2][3] It was a commercial disappointment.[4]

The album's first single was "Star".[5] The band promoted Bleed Your Cedar by touring with labelmates the Heads.[6]

Production[edit]

The album was produced by band members Oren Bloedow and Ed Pastorini.[5] It was recorded in two weeks at Pachyderm Recording Studio, where the band chose from a pool of 20 songs.[5] James Genus played bass on the album.[7] "Star" first appeared on the band's EP.[8] A photograph of the band's singer, Jennifer Charles, adorns the album cover; Charles wrote all of the lyrics.[9][10]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Boston Herald[7]
Dayton Daily News[12]
Knoxville News Sentinel[13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[14]
San Antonio Express-News[10]
The Star[8]

The Village Voice wrote that Bleed Your Cedar is "never strictly rock, trip, hop, jazz, or classical, although it embodies the characteristics of each... More accurately, Bleed is an improv bouillabaisse—elegant licks, simple melodies, and wistful minor chords held together by drummer Ben Perowsky's ever steady beat, and Charles."[9] The Knoxville News Sentinel opined: "Pitted against otherworldly guitars, lulling bass lines and drifting keyboards, Charles slips into the hypnotic cadences with erotic grace."[13] The Boston Herald thought that, "after five or six songs, the band's crawling tempos and Charles' doped-up vocals take on a woozy sameness."[7]

The Los Angeles Times called Charles "a provocative crooner who intones like a cross between Mazzy Star low-key blueswoman Hope Sandoval and Congo Norvell torch queen Sally Norvell."[15] The Dayton Daily News declared that "extreme cool has its place, of course, but just a little more heat would have made this ... a lot more exciting, not to mention easier to get through."[12] The Naples Daily News' Steve Bailey concluded that the band "use effects like the tinkling of piano keys or the rich, eerie whine of the sitar to perfectly set the tone for Charles' mournful vocals and lyrics"; he later listed the album as the eighth best of 1996.[16][17]

AllMusic deemed the album "a set of slow, gloomy and occasionally seductive jangle-pop that's often quite reminiscent of Mazzy Star."[11]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Lady in the Lake" 
2."Jack in the Box" 
3."Off or Out" 
4."Fountains of Fire" 
5."Star" 
6."Anything You'd Like" 
7."Sugarplum Arches" 
8."Parachute" 
9."Gracie Lyons" 
10."Rolling" 
11."Mermaid" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lanham, Tom (Dec 1996). "Quick Fix". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 40. p. 8.
  2. ^ Jeffrey, Don (Oct 26, 1996). "MCA extends Radioactive joint venture". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 43. p. 8.
  3. ^ Cohen, Howard (November 8, 1996). "Elysian Fields, Bleed Your Cedar". Miami Herald. p. 17G.
  4. ^ Reece, Doug (Dec 7, 1996). "Coming On Soft". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 49. p. 19.
  5. ^ a b c "On a Hopeful Note". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ Sherr, Sara (8 Nov 1996). "The Heads". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15.
  7. ^ a b c Convey, Kevin R. (February 23, 1997). "Elysian Fields Bleed Your Cedar". Arts & Lifestyle. Boston Herald. p. 44.
  8. ^ a b Everson, John (Oct 31, 1996). "Halloween time for mood music". Look. The Star. p. 19.
  9. ^ a b Stovall, Natasha (3 Dec 1996). "High school confidential". The Village Voice. Vol. 41, no. 49. p. 80.
  10. ^ a b Barrett, Michael (December 11, 1996). "Bleed Your Cedar Elysian Fields". San Antonio Express News. p. 9G.
  11. ^ a b "Bleed Your Cedar". AllMusic.
  12. ^ a b Rollins, Ron (24 Jan 1997). "Recordings on Review". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 17.
  13. ^ a b Campbell, Chuck (6 Dec 1996). "Elysian Fields: sensual voodoo". Knoxville News Sentinel. p. T13.
  14. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 386.
  15. ^ "Charles' Songs Anchor Elysian Fields Set". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. 13 Dec 1996. p. 28.
  16. ^ Bailey, Steve (November 1, 1996). "CD Reviews". Naples Daily News. p. G15.
  17. ^ Bailey, Steve (January 3, 1997). "Steve Baily's Top Ten". Naples Daily News. p. G12.
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